The Secrets A Restaurant Hides
by TheFrankMaster
Summary: FNIA series episode 1. Douglas, a 20-year-old college dropout, is desperately looking for a job. When he finds an ad in the newspaper for the nightshift position at a restaurant featuring robotic anime characters he immediately applies, not knowing that he will make some unusual – but much needed – friends. [Five Nights in Anime]
1. How it all began

**IMPORTANT MESSAGE: If you've come to read this story for romance or sexual activity, TURN BACK NOW! The only reason why I rated this T is that, regardless of what I write here, Five Nights in Anime is still a highly suggestive game. This story won't be like that, however. If it was, I'd have rated it M and the genre would be romance; not friendship.**

 **~TheFrankMaster**

* * *

 _Chapter one: How it all began _

A 56-year-old man was sitting at his desk in his office, desperately thinking about the problem his restaurant has had from the very beginning of its existence. Said problem involved the night guards quitting their job after only one or two nights, always saying some nonsense about the iconic robots of the establishment moving on their own and trying to kill whoever was in the office. Of course that explanation made no sense, but that left the question why the guards _really_ resigned after such little time.

The 56-year-old man, Kyle Griffiths, wasn't the first owner of Freddy's Restaurant with that particular issue: apparently, the original founders of the place had to deal with it as well, and the guards from back then, interestingly, gave the same explanations. Of course, saying that the animatronics – or anim _e_ -tronics, rather – moved around on their own out for blood wasn't exactly the most original idea, but it was still rather odd.

The place had been without a night guard for almost another two weeks now, and the manager was afraid that, sooner or later, someone would break in. Of course, one wouldn't expect that to happen to a place like this, but the risk was always present.

Mr. Griffiths jumped when his phone suddenly rang. He shook his previous thoughts out of his head before he picked up and held the object at his ear.

"Kyle Griffiths, manager of Freddy's Restaurant," a deep voice, coming from the manager's throat, said. "How may I help you?"

"Ah, y-yeah. Mr. Griffiths, I-I saw that you placed an ad in the newspaper for the nightshift?" a somewhat nervous young man replied.

"Yes," Griffiths said. "I did." He could hear the person on the other side on the phone swallow.

"Um, I-I'd like to apply for that, please, sir," he said, causing the manager to smile slightly. Though there was little hope that this boy would stay, the restaurant could use another night guard.

"Sure," he said. "How about you come over here for a job interview? You know the way?"

"Y-yes, sir, I d-do," the boy said, his voice slightly relieved. "When?"

Griffiths looked at the clock. 12:49 pm.

"Can you make it in ten minutes?" he asked.

"Y-yes, sir. M-my apartment isn't far from the restaurant. I-I'll be able to make it."

Griffiths smiled again. "Good. Also, what's your name?"

"I-it's Goodwin, sir. Douglas Goodwin."

* * *

 **13:00 pm**

A nervous 20-year-old with dark blonde hair and bright blue eyes entered Freddy's Restaurant. When he arrived at the main area, the first things that he noticed were the famous robots on the stage, performing for their audience.

The iconic female anthropomorphic bear animatronic – which, for some reason, went by the rather masculine name Freddy – stood in the middle with a microphone in her hand. Her clothing consisted of black dress pants, a white shirt with a black dress suit over it and black shoes. Rather formal clothing.

She was accompanied by a blue bunny and a yellow chicken, both also female. The bunny – Bonnie was her name – was wearing everyday clothes: a red sweater, dark blue jeans and regular white shoes. She was holding a red V-shaped guitar.

Chica – the chicken – wore equally casual clothing: a pink T-shirt and jeans of the same color as Bonnie's.

The young man – Douglas was his name – looked at them, thinking they were rather… pretty.

When he regained his senses, he shook his head, blushing slightly. What was he doing… they were robots, for goodness' sakes.

The young man looked around, eventually finding the door to the manager's office.

Without looking at the machines a second time, he made his way to his destination, not noticing the yellow eyes from behind a purple curtain secretly observing him.

* * *

"Mr. Goodwin?" Griffiths assumed after inviting the young man to his office. Douglas, being a rather timid person who never applied for a job before, swallowed and nodded silently.

Griffiths smiled. He liked this boy already. He seemed like a great guy.

The manager held out his hand for the young man to shake. "Kyle Griffiths," he said. "I'm the manager. Now, if I recall correctly, you were here for the night guard job?"

Douglas shook the manager's hand. "Y-yes, s-s-sir," he stuttered. "I-I-I s-saw the advertisement you placed in the paper."

"So you told me," Griffiths said as he sat down on his office chair while gesturing to the chair next to the boy. "Have a seat, Mr. Goodwin."

The young man did as he was told and sat down on the chair. Griffiths took a short moment to observe the potential guard in front of him. The kid was taller than him, and had a rather thin build. His hair was a dark golden color, and his nervous-looking eyes a pure blue.

"Tell me, Mr. Goodwin…" Griffiths began. "Why do you want this job? I don't mean to deter you, but your salary won't exactly be high. Especially the first week."

Douglas nervously shifted in his seat, thinking about what to say next. He wasn't really proud of his past, and telling this man may completely blow his chance to get a job here out the window.

But he couldn't lie. That would probably just get him into even more trouble, to the point where he would eventually get fired or maybe even sued or something. Besides, if he was successful in deceiving his boss, he wouldn't be able to look at himself in the mirror. He still had a conscience, after all.

He swallowed yet again. "W-well, sir," he began. "I-I'm a college dropout, a-and in desperate need for a job. T-the rent for m-my apartment isn't really expensive, s-so…" he trailed off.

"I see," Griffiths said. He hesitated. He had no problem with the boy being a dropout, but would he really let him go through the mental torture that apparently happened during the night here? Granted, the other guards' stories were absolute balderdash, but something did seem to have spooked them. Maybe being alone in a dark building for six hours with limited power took its toll on their minds. Unfortunately, there was no way of knowing, since the camera footage would always have been mysteriously erased.

The manager came to a decision. With a smile, he stood up, with Douglas doing the same. The latter was surprised when Griffiths held out his hand again for the younger man to shake.

"Welcome to the company, Mr. Goodwin!"

* * *

 **Yes, the anime-tronics wear clothing. Sue me.**


	2. Fear

_Chapter two: Fear_

12:00 am

Douglas still couldn't believe that he got the job so easily. When the manager stood up near the end of their conversation the younger man expected him to kick him out or something, or at the very least to not accept him as a night guard. Yet here he sat now in his new office.

Right after Mr. Griffiths accepted him into the company, he had proceeded to show Douglas his new office at the end of the hallways. The younger man had been wondering where they would lead, and he got his answer without even asking. After being taken there, he had been shown how to do his job: the cameras, the doors, the lights, the vent, everything.

When that was done, Mr. Griffiths had given him the uniform, equipment and badge. The uniform looked like a regular guard uniform, which, of course, didn't come as a surprise. The belt that came with it also contained the equipment one would expect from a guard: a taser, a flashlight, a cell phone, you name it.

Douglas' job was simple: watch the cameras for any break-ins, and, most important of all, make sure to keep the anime-tronics from harm, all the while protecting himself. Mr. Griffiths did say he cared for his employees, and that if Douglas found himself in true danger, he would have to lock himself in the office and contact the police as soon as possible.

RING RING!

The new guard jumped when the office phone suddenly rang. He looked at it, confused. Who would call the restaurant at this hour? And why? The young man quickly stood up from his chair, walked over to the desk and put the phone on speaker.

"Hello?" he hesitantly said.

 _"_ _Uh, hello?"_ a voice, coming from the phone, replied.

"Yeah," Douglas said. "This is Freddy's Restaura-"

 _"_ _I need you to listen,"_ the voice interrupted in a calm yet urgent tone. _"The robots will be active during the night."_

Douglas blinked. "Sir-"

 _"_ _I left this message for whoever is in that office right now. It's really important, so just listen to me, alright?"_

"Oh…" the guard said to nobody in particular. "It's pre-recorded."

 _"_ _The robots, these 'anime-tronics', have minds of their own. During the night, they'll come after you to… well, the point is that you have to keep them out of your office. You see, should you let them enter, they'll play a bit… well… rough."_

"What? What do you mean, 'play rough'?" Douglas asked, slightly disturbed.

 _"_ _However, due to the heavy assets they have in their robotic bodies, the chances for you to survive their… well, the chances are slim, okay? Use the doors to keep them at bay, but make sure to conserve your power. If it runs out, you'll be defenseless. I also recommend quitting, by the way."_

 _*Click*_

Douglas was sweating heavily at this point. This was something his manager had not discussed with him. The robots trying to take his life? And then the eventual cause of death…

The guard immediately reached for the security tablet to see if one of the anime-tronics had already moved, but stopped himself. He stepped backwards and fell back into his chair, chuckling nervously. Of course the whole didn't make sense. Sentient robots moving around and killing him? He should have known better than to just believe it all. It was probably a prank, fabricated from one of the veteran employees' creative – or twisted – minds.

Douglas closed his eyes in relief and let his head rest on the back of the chair. They really got him scared for a moment there, but he wasn't going to check the cameras for something he knew was humbug. Nor was he going to quit his job.

"You… awake?" a soft, unidentified voice asked.

Douglas' eyes flew open and he lifted his head back up, his face showing pure shock as he looked at where the voice had come from. It didn't take long for him to see who its owner was.

There, sitting on his desk, was Bonnie, the blue robot bunny. It was giving him a curious look and a small, friendly smile. It perked up a bit when the guard revealed that he was awake, its smile widening.

Douglas, on the other hand, felt fear getting its grip on his body. His breathing intensified and eventually almost turned into hyperventilation, as he rolled his chair away from the bunny on which his terrified eyes were locked. As he tried to increase the distance between him and it, his thoughts were brought back to the message on the phone.

 _You see, should you let them enter, they'll play a bit… well… rough._

The desk chair hit the wall behind it, amplifying the guard's fear by tenfold as he still focused on Bonnie, which had stood up from the desk, revealing its immense height. Its face showed a bit of what seemed to be worry, but Douglas failed to notice that. All he knew was that he was about to be killed by a giant robot bunny, all because he refused to believe the guy on the phone.

Unless he would somehow manage to avoid death.

Having started to make a quick and definitely flawed plan in his head, the guard stood up from his own seat. He was starting to get his breath back under his control, but his body was still shaking heavily.

He made an observation as to how best to do this: the bunny was standing rather close to the west door and going through the vent was not an option either. That left him with only one chance to save himself…

Suddenly, Bonnie spoke up. "Now, there's no need to be scared…"

Its voice was warm and calming. Or it would've been, had Douglas not been blinded by how disturbing it was that this thing appeared to be talking freely. He couldn't risk his life trying to reason with a machine that apparently wanted to… well, a machine that was dangerous.

The young man froze for a second before making his move. Before the bunny knew it, Douglas had stormed off through the east door with all the speed his adrenalized body could provide him with. As he ran through the hallway, he made a quick final part for his plan: run straight for the entrance and leave the restaurant.

He sprinted into the party room and headed for the exit, not bothering to look if the other anime-tronics were still on stage. His speed allowed him to reach the door to the outside in mere seconds, after which he grabbed the handle and pulled.

It didn't budge.

"Shit," Douglas muttered under his breath. He had completely forgotten that the doors were locked during the night. How could he be so stupid? His shaking hands immediately went to the keyring on his belt.

Despite the uncontrolled vibrations, the guard managed to get the keyring and was about to unlock the door, when a soft, yellow hand coming from behind him wrapped its fingers around his wrist. Before Douglas could react, another yellow hand had stolen the keyring from his grasp.

As the first hand let go of his wrist, the night guard whirled around to come face to face with Chica, the yellow robot chicken. It was holding the keyring in its hands in a teasing manner, moving it with its fingers as if she was going to use it for a magic trick.

Douglas pressed his back into the door behind him, fear gripping his throat and preventing him from screaming. All that escaped was a whimper.

Upon hearing that, the chicken's teasing expression vanished and was replaced by the same worry the bunny had when it paid a visit to the office. It stopped playing with the keyring and firmly held it in its right hand.

"Everything okay?" a familiar voice from behind Chica asked. The chicken turned its head to where it came from and Douglas was horrified to see Bonnie emerge from the darkness behind the yellow robot.

With both artificial creatures looming over him, the guard's fear was almost tangible. His body was completely frozen, and his face had a seemingly permanent expression of terror as he looked at the bots. This wasn't supposed to happen. This wasn't possible. This-

"H-hey, now, don't be scared," Bonnie suddenly said. She wasn't sure if it would help much, but it didn't hurt to try. She understood that sentient robots weren't exactly normal in the human world. Apparently, they would be a huge threat to mankind, and she didn't blame the humans for thinking that. Sure, the robotic gang members here were potentially dangerous due to their inhuman strength and durability, but they would never hurt anyone.

Despite this, the night guards were always scared of them. Again, she understood that, especially since the message on the phone told them a terrifying myth – which still disgusted her to the bone. But the bots were in great need for a friend during the night, and never stopped trying to get one. Unfortunately, the guards would always quit their job first thing in the morning.

Chica looked at the bunny. "Maybe we should bring him back to the office," it – no, _she_ – softly said. Bonnie seemed to agree.

The latter looked back at Douglas and reached out her arm to him. His reaction was to try and move away, but his body didn't seem to fully obey him anymore. He was literally frozen in fear.

He did flinch, however, when Bonnie's hand slowly landed on his shoulder. She tried to pull him away from the door as gently as she could, but it did eventually require some force.

Once Douglas and the door were separated, the bunny moved him forward, leading him towards the west hallway.

"C'mon," she softly said. "Let's go…"

* * *

 **Fun fact: this chapter was originally going to be called 'The first night'. However, since that was rather cliché for a FNAF/FNIA story, I decided to make the name fit in a bit more with the chapter itself. I think I did a good job on that part…**

 **Also, to avoid any misunderstandings, the anime-tronics still wear their full attires during the night.**


	3. Friends

_Chapter three: Friends _

Douglas knew it was hopeless to try to escape again. They had caught him, and the bunny was now bringing him back to the office to do whatever they do with the night guards. There was no point in resisting: he'd only make them angrier, and his chances of escaping the bunny's grasp were slim.

Bonnie was still worried. So far, the new guard had been so afraid, that it seemed like he never even considered the fact that she may not be as evil as he thought. His mind had been completely focused on trying to escape, despite the bunny's repeated attempts to calm him down. Her ears drooped slightly. She felt like this was her fault. She was the one who snuck into his office, after all.

When the two reached the office, the robot bunny quickly put Douglas in his seat as gently as she could. He didn't make any movement, but his eyes – which were as fearful as ever – continued to follow her as she slowly moved backwards and sat back down on the desk.

Chica then walked in with a glass of water in her hand, looking questioningly at Bonnie, who gave her a nod before looking back at the motionless guard. The chicken turned her gaze to Douglas as well, and slowly started to approached him. Once she was close enough, she offered him the glass of water.

That caught the young man's attention. He didn't expect such a friendly gesture from the robot – if it really was friendly, that was. For all he knew, the water could contain some kind of chemical substance that would cause his entire body to melt, simply for the sadistic pleasure of the two anime-tronics. However, knowing that he didn't have a choice, he briefly looked up at Chica before his shaking hands took the glass.

Chica gave a warm smile before backing up and sitting next to Bonnie on the desk, while Douglas put the glass to his lips and gulped the water down his throat. If it did contain poison, the taste didn't betray its presence: he felt refreshed by the cool liquid, and the thirst he didn't know he had was quenched.

Once he was done, the robot chicken approached him once more and took the empty glass from him, before returning to the desk. Douglas – who started to regain control of his body and mind – looked at them fearfully and confusedly. He wanted to say something: he had so many questions, but his vocal cords still weren't obeying correctly, as evidenced by the incoherent words escaping his throat.

"Wh… wha… is…"

He gave up and looked down. Bonnie then spoke up.

"I know this must be confusing for you," she said in her usual gentle voice. "But we can explain everything."

The guard looked back up at her. He was eager to get some answers: how were these robots talking and moving on their own? Why wasn't he told about this? Who was that guy on the phone? Were these things – no, _girls_ – not going to hurt him?

Said girls almost seemed to read his mind, because Chica spoke up without Douglas having said anything.

"We don't know why we're like this," she said. "From the day we were activated, we were… free, I guess. Not like most machines." She smiled proudly. "We can think and act like you humans."

"No one really knows about this, though," Bonnie added. "Not even Mr. Griffiths. Only the night guards and the creator of our predecessors."

"Those guards never really stay around long," Chica said with sadness in her voice. "They usually quit after their first night." She bowed her head. "They're… scared of us. And those messages they leave on the phone don't really help."

"But we'd never hurt anyone," Bonnie assured the guard. "Nor would we do anything to make you feel uncomfortable."

Chica raised her head again upon hearing that, and a mischievous grin appeared on her face as she got up from the desk. "Actually," she said in a voice that matched her grin. "That last part isn't entirely true…"

Douglas flinched and froze upon hearing that. Fortunately, Bonnie interfered.

"Chica!" the bunny scolded. "The poor guy's been through enough for one night!"

The chicken in question looked down as she took her seat on the desk once more, but her grin remained.

"Sorry," she apologized to the now relieved guard. "I was just having some fun."

"Don't mind her," Bonnie added. "She likes messing with people."

"I-i-it's alright…" Douglas timidly mumbled, causing the two girls on the desk to perk up a bit. It was the first time this guy really spoke, and they were happily surprised that his first words to them would be to express his forgiveness.

The three talked for the rest of the night, with the guard slowly learning to actually speak to the bots properly. Douglas accepted Bonnie's apology for sneaking into his office and Chica's for stealing his keyring. She said that it was necessary to keep the young man from leaving, but something – whether it was the chicken's newly formed grin or Bonnie's suspicious look – told him that there was more to it. Around 5:56, Douglas' ability to speak with them had improved greatly, though he was still shy and a bit scared.

The bots didn't mind the shy part: it only made them adore him more. It was the fear they were worried about. Not only because they cared for the human, but also because it increased the chance that he would quit like the other guards had. Sure, those other guards never really spoke and always managed to keep the girls out, but still.

During their conversations, the young man got to know more about the bots. Bonnie was sweet and caring, assuring the guard that he was among friends several times. Chica was caring as well, but tended to tease him a lot more. She wouldn't say anything that would cut too deep, of course. Her jokes did make Douglas feel slightly uncomfortable, but he didn't really mind.

"I'm afraid we need to go back to the show stage," Chica eventually said, looking at the clock. She turned back to the guard. "Please don't tell anyone about what happened this night. It's best if our sentience is kept a secret."

Douglas swallowed and nodded.

"And please don't quit," Bonnie pleaded. "You're such a nice guy. We'd hate to see you leave…"

"I-I won't quit," Douglas promised, causing both girls to brighten up.

As the trio stood up from their respective seats (making the young man marvel at how tall the girls were), they said their final goodbyes before going their separate ways. The bots had to return to the stage, and Douglas had to wait in the office until the morning guard arrived.

When he left the building, all he could think about was what had happened. He had run away from two sentient robots which eventually turned out to be great friends. He found out that he was their first real human friend during the night and why it was so easy to get the night guard position in the first place: after so many others quit, the company was desperate for someone who would look out for the girls after hours.

And despite the fear he felt, even after he really met Bonnie and Chica…

…he couldn't help but look forward to his next night.

* * *

 **I would like to shamelessly advertise my Shadows Consume story, as well as the game on which it is based: The Consuming Shadow. I DO NOT OWN THE GAME!**


	4. More friends

**I enjoy writing this story a lot – which is why I didn't realize that this chapter is almost worth as many pages as my second chapter of Shadows Consume…**

* * *

 _Chapter four: More friends _

"So how was your first day on the job?" Griffiths asked through the phone. He had been anxiously awaiting Douglas to contact him to resign, but nothing had happened all day. Eventually, the manager had called the new guard instead to get the information he needed.

"It went smooth, sir," Douglas said. "I had to get used to being all alone the first few minutes, but the rest of the night wasn't very eventful."

Of course he was lying. The night had been anything but uneventful, but since it was all subjective in this case, the young man decided that Mr. Griffiths didn't need to know that. He had made a promise to the girls, and he had no intention of breaking it.

Douglas' answer left the manager confused. Most guards would literally scream their answer into his ear, informing him that they quit. That he would have to find another 'idiot' to fill the position of night guard.

In addition, the morning guard always told him that the night guards would storm off, sometimes saying something similar to him. This morning, however, he said that Douglas was rather calm. He had been somewhat anxious, yes, but it certainly wasn't as bad as his predecessors.

What made him so different from them?

"Really?" he slowly asked. "So I take it you're staying?"

"Absolutely, sir," the guard replied. "I'm staying."

"I'm…glad," the manager replied before falling silent, thinking. He opened his mouth, froze, and eventually decided not to ask the question.

The question about what happened each night.

* * *

 **11:45 pm**

Douglas entered Freddy's once more, allowing the day guard to go home earlier. He locked the door behind him as he left, unknowingly leaving his colleague at the mercy of sentient machines that were dreaded by every other person who ever did the nightshift at Freddy's Restaurant.

This night guard was just about to leave the party/dinner area to go to his office, when a voice from the show stage caught his attention.

"You came back!"

Douglas looked towards it source and instinctively flinched when he saw Bonnie standing right in front of the stage, giving him a joyous look. Her green eyes almost seemed on the verge of producing tears of happiness as she walked towards him, making him – again on instinct – back up slightly.

He yelped when she suddenly wrapped her arms around him into an embrace. His head was gently pushed into her shoulder.

His old fear came back at first, making him freeze. However, it didn't stay for long, and he quickly caught himself enjoying the hug – eventually making the decision to return the favor, much to Bonnie's joy.

"I'm so happy you're back…"

Was she actually crying? Her voice sounded like she was, and knowing how hostile the previous guards had been towards the girls, Douglas didn't blame her. He was already astonished at how they didn't go crazy after all that time of having insults thrown at their heads each time they tried to make a new friend at night. Not to mention the fact that they refrained from holding grudges against the guards.

The young man suddenly felt more arms wrapping around his stomach from behind, and he had an idea as to whom they belonged.

"Mind if I join in?" Chica's sly voice asked as she joined the hug, confirming Douglas' suspicion. He suddenly realized that his face felt warm, and the temperature certainly wasn't going to drop anytime soon. Chica noticed this, and her smirk grew.

"You'd do a good job as a heating, Dougey," she teased, causing the guard's temperature to rise like never before. This only increased her inclination to continue, only for her attempt to be prevented by Bonnie.

"Chica, stop pestering the poor guy," she giggled. The chicken in question decided not to argue. Her smirk remained, however, and she teasingly tightened the hug on the guard.

Said guard, meanwhile, was about two seconds away from getting fried inside out by his own body heat. Chica showing off some more of her strength certainly didn't help. However, every downside had its upside, and Douglas felt his fear for the girls diminish greatly. They could hurt him then and there, but chose not to.

He suddenly felt a huge guilt weigh him down when he recalled last night. He had done exactly what those other guards had done at first. He had tried to run away, and the girls would have had to continue their search for a friend. The only reason why he was still here was because he didn't believe the guy on the phone, allowing Bonnie to sneak in. And even after that, they still had to talk the night away to convince him just enough so that he would return.

Had they not caught him, he wouldn't be here right now.

Bonnie slowly and reluctantly released the young man from her embrace with Chica doing the same. She had managed to hold back the tears that had threatened to escape her eyes, though her voice did quiver slightly when she remarked how glad she was to see him again. She became even more joyful when he returned the hug. She never expected him to do that, and she was hoping he did not do it because he felt obligated to.

When the bunny looked back at him, she saw that his face had turned completely red. She inwardly giggled, but at the same time felt a bit guilty for forcing him out of his comfort zone. She wanted to apologize, but Chica spoke up first.

"How about we go back to the office?" she asked, her cheerfulness visible. "After all, Douglas needs to be prepared for his… meeting."

The guard snapped his head into her direction, his face showing confusion and nervousness. Instead of answering the question she knew he had, however, the chicken, who felt like teasing the poor boy some more, gave a mysterious smirk.

"Don't worry," Bonnie said. "It's nothing to be scared of. We'll tell you in the office."

That removed the smirk from Chica's face, and she looked at Bonnie with fake anger. "Why do you always have to be such a spoilsport?" she asked.

"Why do _you_ always have to be such a tease?" the bunny retorted.

* * *

The animosity between the girls was never real, much to Douglas' relief. The trio had just taken their respective seats in the office, and the guard was curious about what Chica meant when she said he had a 'meeting'. When he asked, she refused to give him a straight answer – instead telling him all kinds of cryptic nonsense that really didn't suit her, despite the fact that it only unnerved the young man more. Eventually, Bonnie interjected, thinking their human friend had suffered enough.

"Well, Douglas," she said right before the chicken next to her was about to say something else. "After meeting us two last night, we thought it would be a good idea if you'd meet _all_ of us."

The guard froze in fear once more, making Bonnie hastily correct herself.

"I meant one by one, of course," she quickly said. "We're not going to send all the others after you at once; that would be a bit extreme." She felt relieved when Douglas relaxed. After a moment of silence, however, some nervousness could be heard in his voice as he softly spoke up.

"W-who will I be meeting first?" he timidly asked.

* * *

Freddy was working backstage, putting the tools that were stored there in proper order. It was what she usually did when there was no night guard: tidying up the place until it looked neat enough for her liking. When she wasn't doing that, she would be talking with the other members of the gang.

She knew that she would be meeting the new guard tonight. Bonnie and Chica told her about him last morning, and Freddy had made a plan about who would meet him and when. Her original idea was to let Mangle go first, but the snow white fox objected, saying that she didn't dare to meet him alone. Foxy and Spring would be a bit too enthusiastic, and Golden said that Douglas would likely be freaked out by her…powers. The golden she-bear suggested that Freddy herself should go, and the other girls had agreed on that.

Freddy's attention was drawn from the mess on the ground and the tables when the door behind her opened. She turned around to see two of her fellow entertainers, Bonnie and Chica, walking inside. Freddy smiled, knowing what would come next.

"Hello, Bonnie. Chica," she said. "I take it the guard is ready?"

"Define 'ready'," Chica smirked. "He's still a bit nervous, so be gentle with him."

"I think he's more shy than nervous at this point, actually," Bonnie said. She then gave the chicken an accusing look. "And I don't think saying that he 'just might' survive Spring's hugs helped."

Chica innocently put her hands up, her smirk still present. "Hey, it was worth a try, right?"

"Wrong."

"Let's agree to disagree."

"Let's just agree to agree."

Freddy giggled silently. These two would usually have fights like this, but real anger would never be involved. Both were caring – all members of the gang were – but the ways they show it differed greatly.

"Why don't you two continue your debate…" she said. "…while I go to the guard's office."

* * *

Douglas was nervously sitting in his chair and leaning on the desk with his elbows, his head held in his hands. He was about to meet the leader of the gang; apparently the most formal person currently in this building. He was terrible with meeting new people, since his shyness and fear would always get in the way.

Bonnie and Chica had assured him that Freddy was kind and easy to become friends with. She never raises her voice unless there was an actual fight among two or more people, or if someone would openly loathe themselves. Freddy would always be the first to solve fights and to try to give people confidence, and getting her angry was difficult – unless you were to purposefully harm her or one of her friends.

This all would likely have made Douglas a bit less anxious, were it not for his absolute zero self-image. Several experiences from the pasts, most of them involving bullies, had taken their tolls on his confidence and self-respect, to the point where he himself regarded himself as inferior.

Not even the university he had gone to was safe. One would think that everyone on the university would be grown up and past bullying, but there were exceptions. And after hearing numerous reports about people being bullied at _work_ , his fear increased even more.

Thinking back to his past and experiences, the guard couldn't help but become a bit depressed. According to several tests, his IQ was pretty far above average, which is how he had managed to make it to the university in the first place. The only reason his grades eventually lowered was because of extreme performance anxiety and depression, caused by the bullies that were after him at the time. Somehow, he had managed to keep his grades high through the pain he had to endure until the university, where his apparently tremendous mental strength began to truly falter.

"Are you alright?"

Douglas jumped and looked to his right, where the unknown voice had come from. He took a quick breath when he saw Freddy standing there, giving him a warm smile.

"F-Freddy…!" he stuttered.

The guard quickly rolled his chair backwards and shakily stood up, his gaze kept on the she-bear, who calmly walked into the room.

"U-um…uh…g-good m-morning…uh, m-madam…I-"

Freddy held up her hand calmingly, silencing the nervous young man. Bonnie and Chica were not lying when they said the guy was shy and easily frightened. Of course, she never expected them to lie, but was still slightly taken aback when she saw Douglas standing there with his body shaking and his eyes watching her every move.

Freddy slowly came closer, causing Douglas to instinctively backed up. It didn't take long for his legs to feel the chair behind him, but he refused to sit down without her permission. It would likely make him look worse than he already did.

Freddy stopped her advance right in front of him, put her hands on his shoulders and gently pushed him into the seat.

"Sit down, Mr. Goodwin," she softly said. "Take a moment to catch your breath."

She backed up slightly. "Take your time. And don't be afraid; I won't bite." She added.

Douglas swallowed and nodded, struggling to get his breath back under control. He closed his eyes.

 _I'm being a total coward_ he thought. _I've always been a coward._

It took a few minutes until the guard's breaths were normal again. Freddy had been patiently waiting the whole time, deeply worried that she might have scared the poor soul. She did attempt to be careful as to not startle him when she entered the office, however, so maybe this was beyond her immediate control. She was going to make sure that he will warm up to her and the other girls eventually though, no matter how long it would take.

Douglas slowly opened his eyes, revealing to him that the she-bear had taken her seat on the office desk; probably the favorite place for the animatronics to sit on.

Or maybe it wasn't…

Upon getting that thought, the young man stood up hastily once again.

"Uh…d-do you want the chair…uh…madam?" he stuttered.

Freddy was surprised by the offer, but shook her head in response. "No thank you, Mr. Goodwin," she politely declined. "And please, call me Freddy. There's no need to be so formal."

This actually relieved Douglas, although he was still nervous. Maybe it was because despite Freddy's reassurance, she herself still behaved in a somewhat formal way. Even the way she dressed expressed that. However, the fact that she just gave him permission to call her by her first name combined with the friendliness her face showed would calm almost anyone down.

The she-bear noticed that the guard was still standing next to his chair, and gestured for him to sit down in it.

"Please sit back down, Mr. Goodwin, and relax. I've already told you that I won't bite."

"D-Douglas…" Douglas stuttered almost inaudibly.

Freddy leaned forward slightly. "What's that?" she asked.

"C-call me Douglas…" the guard repeated in a slightly louder voice.

Freddy blinked before her smile briefly widened.

"Douglas…" she softly said as she sat back up. "There's no need to be so nervous. You're among friends here."

Douglas nodded silently once again.

"Now…" the she-bear began. "Perhaps it is time to get to know one another."


	5. Getting comfortable

**Hey, guys. A message: I may not update this – and my other stories – as frequent as I used to. You see, when I started my third story (Shadows Consume Book 1) I once again started to drink coffee for caffeine, giving me a temporary energy boost that allowed me to write better quality in less time.**

 **However, it would seem that my body has built up a tolerance, seeing how it has become less effective. I guess it's kind of a good thing, though, because I feel like I updated far too often in too little time at some stories.**

 **Anyway, enough of my excuses. Go ahead and read the story.**

 **Fun fact: it took me** _ **much**_ **longer than usual to find a name for this chapter. I'm still not entirely happy with it, but my creativity had left me.**

* * *

 _Chapter five: Getting comfortable_

The feeling of doubt Douglas felt when Mr. Griffiths had asked him why he came to work here returned in an instant. He knew now that Griffiths didn't really care whether he was a dropout or not, and since the other girls spoke so highly of Freddy, the young man thought it would be unlikely for her to disapprove. On top of that, she had been extremely friendly for a night guard and a stranger like him.

But again, uncertainty prevailed. And again, lying would get him in deep trouble _and_ weigh heavily on his mind.

And asking for Freddy to tell about her past first would not exactly be polite.

"So…" the she-bear in question began. "What is your background?"

Douglas took a deep breath before he answered. "W-well…I-I, uh…I b-basically dropped out o-of college…"

He looked down, afraid of the answer he was going to receive.

Freddy felt bad for this boy. He obviously was not proud of his past, and probably thought that she would think less of him after such a revelation. She had to be careful to not hurt this highly delicate young man, and made a mental note to inform the others of that.

She was going to make sure that he was going to be comfortable.

* * *

"I still think that teasing the new guy is not a good strategy to make him comfortable," Bonnie giggled.

Chica smirked in response. "But he's just so fun to mess with!" she said.

The two were currently in the kitchen. They had just started to make a pizza for Douglas in an attempt to ease his mind. He seemed very nervous when they told him who he was going to meet tonight, despite the girls' reassurances that Freddy was one of the friendliest people one could meet.

The guard's fear likely originated from his knowledge about Freddy's status in the Restaurant: she was the leader, and despite her democratic way of 'ruling', her word was still law here.

Second only to Golden's, perhaps…

"I'm not sure if he appreciates that," Bonnie replied. "He's shy and easily scared. We shouldn't take advantage of that."

"He'll get used to it. Besides, we're making him a pizza right now."

"I just hope he doesn't think it's poisonous or something…"

Chica turned her head and gave her friend an incredulous look. "…Don't you think that's a little exaggerated?"

"Maybe…" Bonnie said. "But I don't want to take any chances. You've seen how skittish he is."

The yellow chicken briefly thought about that before nodding, her expression suddenly serious.

"I feel like it's my fault," she softly said.

Her friend looked at her, puzzled. "Don't say that," she responded. "I'm the one who snuck into his office." Her ears drooped slightly. "If anyone's to blame, I'd say it's me…"

A silence fell. Bonnie guiltily looked at the ground and Chica looked at her. This was usually the kind of subject the gang members disagreed on. They were friends, and since the encounters with the previous guards had caused their self-confidence to gradually deteriorate over time, blaming themselves for whatever was going on had almost become an everyday activity for all of them.

After a while, Chica smiled and put her hand on Bonnie's shoulder.

"Actually, I think I know the real problem here," she said.

Bonnie looked up at her, confused once again. "What's that?"

Chica's smile widened. "Well, I'm not entirely sure, but what if…" her voice got a mysterious tone. "What if…the guard is just afraid because we're walking talking robots?"

The bunny briefly froze before chuckling. She looked at her hands. "Heh…I guess I completely forgot about that…"

"We all did," the chicken said. "I suppose it's only normal. Douglas still needs to get used to it," she giggled. "Remember how we used to think that sentient robots were normal? We completely ignored Golden's advice and were a bit eager to make friends with the night guard."

Bonnie giggled as well. "Yeah, I remember," she recalled nostalgically. "We scared the living daylights out of the poor guy."

"Golden wasn't really happy with it, though. Or the guard, for that matter…" Chica chuckled. She then turned to the countertop, still grinning. "C'mon. This pizza isn't going to make itself."

* * *

 **A few hours later**

"Your brother seems like a good person to me," Freddy said. "Given the fact that he has supported you with almost every decision you have made."

Douglas, who despite his remaining shyness had gotten strangely comfortable, nodded.

"He is," he affirmed. "My parents wanted me and Zach to follow my father's lead and get an education for electrical engineering at first. My brother really liked the school subjects that came with it, but I was more interested in chemistry, biology, that kind of thing."

"So you wanted to become a chemist? Or a doctor?" Freddy guessed. The guard shrugged.

"I didn't really plan ahead much…" he admitted. "But I did want to become something along those lines." He looked down a bit. "I could tell that my parents were disappointed, even if they tried to hide it."

"They shouldn't be," the she-bear softly said. "It was your choice. You were not as interested in electrical engineering as you were in biology. Not only that, but you're also the first guard to truly care about us."

Douglas blushed a bit. He was not used to getting many compliments like this, and actually getting them felt good, if not a little…uncomfortable. Maybe because he still remembered how he tried to run away the previous night. Similar to what those other guards had done.

He kept looking at the ground. "But I ran…" he muttered. Freddy nodded.

"Yes," she said, her voice sounding no less friendly. "I was told by the other two. You did try to flee, but wasn't successful." She leaned forward a bit. "But you're here now, aren't you? Besides, you weren't as spiteful as the other guards were."

Douglas let out a humorless chuckle. "Because I was too afraid…"

Before Freddy could say anything in response, Chica suddenly walked in, holding a plate with a steaming pizza on it.

"Hope you're hungry, Dougey!" she exclaimed. "Bonnie and I made you a little present!"


	6. The past catching up

_Chapter six: The past catching up_

 _Douglas was lazily sitting on a chair in his apartment, engrossed in a book about the human anatomy while taking a sip from his cup of coffee so now and then. He had always been very interested in biology. When he was around the age of seven, he was already starting to wonder how exactly he was able to control his body the way he did._

 _Upon doing research on the human body, however, he became nauseous and slightly disgusted, yet at the same time fascinated. As he could not resist the tendency to investigate further, the nausea slowly faded each time he looked something up about it._

 _His parents didn't really approve, though. Maybe it was because his father wanted him to become an electrical engineer, or because his mother was afraid he might find out certain things that weren't appropriate for kids his age. Despite this, Douglas' yearning for knowledge was uncontrollable and extremely difficult – if not impossible – to resist._

 _He had managed to find out bits and pieces of information without his parents knowing about it, and he was enthusiastic when he got it as a school subject for the first time._

 _The young man was so focused on his book that he_ almost _missed the movement of something in his peripheral vision._

 _He blinked and looked to see what appeared to be an anthropomorphic she-bear, with many physical similarities to Freddy Fazbear. However, there were still some noticeable differences._

 _Instead of brown, this anime-tronic was gold in color. Cuts and scratches could be seen all over the machine's body, and where one of her ears should be, a group of wires just stuck out of her head. Her eyes were completely black, save for the white pinprick dots in the middle. Her clothing was similar to Freddy's as well, but seemed slightly worn._

 _Despite the damage and the eyes, she still looked rather…cute._

 _Douglas flinched and tried to stand up from his chair, but felt that an invisible, possibly telekinetic force held him down. Yet at the same time, instead of fear, he felt strangely at ease. As if he could feel that this person was completely benevolent. The golden she-bear didn't appear to do anything to harm him, and instead gave him those kind eyes that Douglas had seen from the other girls._

 _Then, the figure spoke up._

 _"_ _No need to panic," she said in a soft, reassuring voice. "This is just a dream. Although…" she giggled. "One that_ I _created"_

 _Douglas gave her a surprised look. "A…dream?"_

 _The golden anime-tronic nodded. "Yeah. I thought this would be a good way to prepare you for when I'll meet you in real life."_

 _"…_ _how?" the young man asked._

 _The she-bear looked at her hands. "Not really sure myself…" she sighed. "I've been able to do these things ever since I was created." She looked back at Douglas and smiled. "My name is Golden."_

 _"_ _I-I'm Douglas," the guard answered in a slightly timid voice._

 _Golden's smile widened and she tilted her head slightly. "Aw…looks like even I can't completely remove your shyness." She teased, causing Douglas to blush a bit and avert his gaze, much to her amusement._

 _Keeping her smile, she walked towards the young man and put a hand on his cheek._

 _"_ _You can never catch a break, can you?" she softly said. "First Chica, now me."_

 _The guard chuckled. He looked up at her._

 _"_ _Heh…I think I'm starting to get used to it…"_

 _It was silent for a few seconds, until Golden's face suddenly turned disappointed._

 _"_ _I'd love to stay and talk for a while, but…" she looked at the clock on the wall. "You've got to wake up sometime."_

 _She looked back at him, smiling again. "How about I visit you during your next dream?" she offered._

 _"_ _Alright…" Douglas reluctantly said. He didn't want to cut the conversation short either, but the golden she-bear was right: he couldn't stay asleep for too long._

* * *

 **15:00 pm**

The young slowly woke up, all the while thinking about his encounter with the golden anime-tronic. He wasn't completely sure whether it was just another dream or really some kind of supernatural force at her command. It was extremely vivid – more vivid than any other dreams he ever had.

He shrugged it off. _Guess I'll find out next night_ he thought.

After a few minutes of being fully awoken, he groggily stepped out of bed and was just about to make breakfast when the phone rang.

Douglas jumped upon hearing the noise, silently cursing himself for being caught off-guard each time that happened. At the same time, he was relieved that nobody called him when he was still asleep. Ever since he got his job at the Restaurant, he had to sleep until around 14:00 or 15:00 pm. It was a nightshift after all, and he always had to catch up.

Hastily, he stepped towards the phone and picked it up.

"Douglas Goodwin," he politely said.

 _"_ _Douglas! I hope I didn't wake you?"_ Kyle Griffiths' voice asked.

"No, sir. I just kind of woke up," Douglas replied. He heard Griffiths sigh in relief.

 _"_ _I'm glad."_ His tone then became slightly darker. _"Hey Douglas…well, I'll just say it; there was a guy just now who tried to apply to the nightshift."_

The young man froze, hoping that what he was thinking now wasn't true.

 _"_ _Before you ask, no, I didn't accept him."_

 _Thank goodness!_ Douglas thought.

"I-I'm glad to hear that, s-sir," he said.

 _"_ _That being said, however…"_ Griffiths continued, inducing fear in the guard once more. _"He seemed to know you."_

A few seconds of silence.

"O-ok?" Douglas stuttered.

 _"_ _Does one Blake Maxwell sound familiar to you?"_

The young man nearly dropped the phone upon hearing that name. Blake Maxwell…that's the name of his tormentor back at the university. _He_ always made Douglas feel uncertain. _He_ always set other people against him. _He-_

 _"_ _Douglas?"_

The boy in question snapped back into reality, remembering that he was still speaking to his boss.

"Er…ye-yeah, s-sir, I-I remember h-him…"

 _"_ _Who is he?"_

Douglas swallowed before answering. "He-he w-w-was my tormentor at the university, sir…he was…indirectly…the m-main reason wh-why I dropped out…"

* * *

On the other side of the line, Griffiths' eyes widened slightly. The calm aura he usually had around him had disappeared in an instant upon hearing that this Blake Maxwell was why the night guard's grades were too low to stay at school. The manager was shocked beyond all imagination.

At the same time, rage took over his mind. When Maxwell was in his office, that sonofabitch had said nothing but negative things about Douglas, without anything to back up his claims. He said things the other way around: that Douglas always pestered _him_. That Douglas was actually a coward who only worked here because he felt 'attracted to the robots'. That Douglas was expelled from school because he bullied everyone.

 _And_ that Douglas only seemed friendly towards the manager because he wanted the job.

Griffiths swore under his breath. He was experienced enough with liars to see that Douglas' politeness and shyness was genuine, and already had a strong suspicion that Maxwell was the real liar.

 _"_ _D-did y-you s-say something, s-sir?"_

The manager blinked. "Er…no, Douglas, nothing." He attempted to keep his voice formal. "N-no need to worry about things." He remained silent for another few seconds. "But if this Blake Maxwell gives you trouble, he won't be welcome here again."


	7. Twins

**Hey, fellows! Sorry for the delay. I'm currently in the middle of an exam week. It's my first, but it certainly won't be my last. Please keep this in mind if future updates will be slow as well.**

* * *

 _Chapter seven: Twins_

Douglas had been – for a lack of a better term – utterly surprised when Chica and Bonnie revealed that they made a pizza. He was even more astonished when he was told that the anime-tronics possessed the ability to eat, even though eating was completely optional for them and had no real use.

The guard had offered to share the pizza with them when he heard that, but the girls declined. Through years of experience, they had learned the ability to 'detect hunger', and the young man seemed like he hadn't eaten in ages.

The trio was currently waiting for said young man in his office, talking and laughing about all kinds of things, sometimes mentioning the guard himself. They had already taken a liking to him; he was cute, he was shy, he was sweet…

They stopped when their sensitive ears picked up a running sound from the west hallway. Their first immediate thought was Foxy, but they quickly found out that it couldn't be her. This person was lighter, probably wore shoes and was panting heavily.

A few seconds later, Douglas appeared in the left doorway, completely out of breath. His eyes quickly scanned the room and he looked in the direction of the clock.

"Am…I…late?" he panted. Freddy looked at the time.

"No," she said. "It's currently 11:52."

The guard let out a sigh of relief before entering the office and leaning on the desk.

"For…got…about…time…"

Freddy quickly stood up from the office chair, gently grabbed the young man's shoulder and guided him to it. He didn't resist or even flinch, as he timidly allowed her to put him in the seat.

"Thanks…" he sincerely said. "Biked here…as fast…as I could…"

"Are you alright?" Bonnie asked. Douglas nodded.

"Yeah…I guess…just tired…" he replied

"Good," Chica smirked. "Then I guess you're ready to meet someone else."

"Already did…" the guard calmly said. "In a dream…"

Chica's smirk turned into a grin. "A dream? Interesting…you must really like one of us."

Douglas shot up as his face turned crimson. "Wha- n-no, I didn't mean…I mean don't get me wrong…ah, shit…I-I mean…" he looked down.

"Relax, Douglas," Freddy said. "You know Chica."

The young man swallowed. "Y-yeah…"

He glared at the chicken, who was chuckling as if her life depended on it. Bonnie was trying to reprimand her, but couldn't help but let out a few giggles as well. Freddy managed to keep her own amusement hidden.

"L-let's just pretend that never happened," Douglas said. Chica shook her head.

"Oh, no," she teased. "I'm never going to forget that."

"Ok, that's enough," Bonnie cut in. "C'mon, leave him be already!"

The chicken fell silent. "Right. Let's talk about the plan for tonight."

Douglas blinked. "What plan?"

"There are still four more people you have to meet," Freddy explained. "We decided that it is the twins' turn to pay you a visit."

"The…twins?" the young man questioningly said.

"Foxy and Mangle," Bonnie clarified. "We always see them as twins, even though they couldn't be more different."

"Twins that are also opposites…" Douglas summarized, making his confusion clear about the irony.

"You'll see what we mean," Chica said.

* * *

Yet another anime-tronic was sitting behind a pair of green curtains, located in the Restaurant. Her skin was white with pink accents, and she appeared to possess two foxlike ears and a foxlike tail, with colors that matched the rest of her body. Her casual clothing was also pink, similar to Chica's. Her shiny gold eyes were hiding behind her snow white hair.

Her name was Mangle. She was known to be the shyest of the gang, in contrast to the enthusiastic Foxy, her 'twin'. Foxy was everything _but_ shy, and loved meeting new people. She was always open with her emotions, unlike the quiet and reserved Mangle. When the two foxes heard that the others actually made friends with the current guard, they were overjoyed; they just showed it in their own respective ways.

Now, however, Mangle was afraid. She wasn't good with meeting new people. Of course she was sure that this man – Douglas was his name – was really nice, even though he still was slightly scared, but the white fox was just too shy.

At least Foxy was there to accompany her, though Mangle should probably keep an eye on the red she-fox. Her enthusiasm had caused her to inadvertently frighten some of the previous night guards pretty badly. Granted, Douglas wasn't like those night guards, but it wouldn't come as a surprise if Foxy managed to scare him as well.

"Mangle?"

Mangle turned her head to see Bonnie standing at the curtains of her cove and immediately knew that it was time to finally meet Douglas. Shaking, the white fox stood up and walked towards the bunny.

"Um…wh-what about-" Mangle stuttered before Foxy came into view alongside Chica.

"C'mon, sis!" the red fox happily squealed. "We're going to meet our new friend!"

And with that, she sprinted down the west hallway.

* * *

From the office, rapidly approaching footsteps could be heard. Douglas froze as he looked towards the door to his left, from which the sound seemed to originate.

In less than two seconds, he was looking at what seemed to be an anthropomorphic female red robotic fox. Said fox was wearing light brown pants and an open black jacket that gave off a pirate vibe with a dark brown shirt underneath. Her golden eyes stared straight into the guard's eyes, and a somewhat scary grin was present on her face.

"Uh…h-hi?" Douglas stuttered. The she-fox's grin widened, scaring the human even more.

"Ah, I'm so glad to finally meet you!" she exclaimed. She took a step towards the guard, who instinctively stumbled backwards.

Her grin turned into a mischievous one. "C'mon, there's nothing to be scared of!" she said. "If you stay calm, I promise I won't bite~."

Douglas fearfully backed up even more, until a second, much softer voice suddenly cried out from behind him.

"Foxy!"

The guard whirled around to see a girl with an appearance similar to the red she-fox's, but with a very different color scheme. Her expression also wasn't as…frightening as the other girl's. Instead of euphoric and/or mischievous, she had a much more worried look.

The red she-fox – whose name was apparently Foxy – chuckled, causing Douglas to turn around to face her again.

"Sorry!" she giggled. "Chica said you were fun to mess with."

The young man relaxed a bit upon seeing that Foxy had stopped her advance on him. He suddenly felt stupid; of course she wasn't going to hurt him. He should've known better…

"Of course…" he muttered. "Chica…I should've known."

The red she-fox looked at him fondly, still chuckling.

"Sorry. I couldn't help myself."

"I-It's fine," Douglas sighed. "I-I'm getting used to it."

Foxy grinned again. "Gettin' used to it, eh? Not sure if that's good or bad. But of course…" she took another swift step and stood right in front of the guard. "…if there's anyone who knows how to mess with people, it's Chica."

"Y-y-yeah, I-I th-thought s-so…" Douglas stuttered, uncomfortable with how close the red she-fox was standing to him.

Said red she-fox's expression turned into one of adoration. Her hand went up and placed itself on the human's shoulder, causing said human to get even more nervous than he already was.

"Aw," Foxy said. "Chica told me your reactions were cute…"

Fortunately for Douglas, the white fox behind him intervened.

"F-Foxy…" she shyly stuttered. "H-he looks a bit uncomfortable."

"I know, Mangle, that's the idea," Foxy responded, grinning once more.

"S-sis…" the white she-fox insisted.

Her sister sighed, removed her hand from Douglas' shoulder and took a step backwards, keeping her grin.

"Sorry 'bout that," she said. "Again, can't help myself."

"N-no problem," Douglas replied. "J-just remind me t-to get my revenge on Chica."

* * *

"You think Foxy scared him?" Chica chuckled. "I _did_ kind of tell her how fun it was to mess with our Dougey."

"Chica!" Bonnie scolded. "How dare you! Foxy probably gave the poor guy a heart attack! You know how she is!"

"She'd have given him a heart attack anyway," the chicken retorted, still chuckling. "I can't help it, I'm sorry!"

Bonnie sighed. "Let's just hope he's okay. I don't want to see him scared again." She pointed an accusing finger at Chica. "And if I do, I'll hold _you_ responsible!"

"Girls…" Freddy interrupted. "Calm down. I'm sure Douglas will be alright. Mangle is there to help him if necessary."


	8. Meet the foxes

**Good news: my exam week is over.**

 **Bad news: I got certain assignments I have to work on at home – and that will likely take a while.**

* * *

 _Chapter eight: Meet the foxes_

"My name's Foxy!" the red she-fox proudly introduced herself. She held out her left hand, which Douglas hesitantly shook. He, Foxy and Mangle had calmed down a bit after what had happened. Mangle, who wasn't entirely comfortable, had run off without a word and came back with a coffee for the guard, shyly mentioning that she didn't add any milk or sugar, which Douglas timidly accepted before taking a sip.

Foxy turned to Mangle, grinning and beckoned to her. "C'mere, sis! Give our new guard a giant hug!"

The white she-fox blushed and looked away in response, causing her red counterpart to walk towards her and grab her by the arm, gently yanking it. Mangle resisted and tried to escape Foxy's grip, but to no avail. Foxy let go eventually, only to grab her sister by the shoulders and push her towards Douglas, who was standing there without knowing what to do.

"C'mon, sis!" Foxy teasingly repeated. "Hug him!"

"F-Foxy! S-s-stop! Th-this i-is n-not funny!" Mangle protested.

"I disagree!" the red she-fox grinned. "I think this is _very_ funny!"

"F-Foxy!" Douglas suddenly called out, causing the two female foxes to look at him. "J-just l-let her go, will you? Th-this is not cool!"

Mangle's relief was as visible as Foxy's disappointment as the latter let go of the former. The white she-fox gave the guard a shy look of gratitude, which he returned with an equally shy smile. The other girl, meanwhile, observed the exchange through expressions between the two, causing her to smirk.

"Looks like we've got some lovebirds here…"

The glares she received from the two blushing faces made her guffaw. As she roared with laughter, Mangle's face turned even redder and her glare made place for an embarrassed look.

"Kiddin', kiddin'!" Foxy quickly said between laughs. "No need for a fight here!"

The guard looked down. "You're worse than Chica…"

"I wouldn't say that, Dougey! Chica was my teacher, after all!"

"That doesn't mean you can't be worse," Douglas retorted. "Where'd Chica learn to mess with people like that, anyway?"

The red she-fox's laughter turned into chuckling. Mangle, meanwhile, had begun to look at the ground as well. Seeing both the guard and her sister embarrassed, Foxy couldn't help but feel slightly bad for them. She ceased what was left of her chuckling and spoke up.

"Heh…sorry…I'll try to stop now. No promises for that, though." She looked at the two other who were still looking at the ground with the same expression. Her grin disappeared and was replaced by a look of worry and guilt, her ears going flat against her head.

She swallowed. "Y-you guys do know I was just kiddin'…right?"

Noticing the worry in her voice, Mangle quickly shot up and looked at her. A small, reassuring smile made its way onto her face.

Douglas then spoke up. "Y-yeah, s-sure…" he looked up at the crimson she-fox and couldn't help but let out a chuckle himself. "B-but there's no need fo-for overtime a-at your job t-to make me uncomfortable…"

Foxy froze before grinning again. "Ah, you think that was overtime, eh?" she asked. "Ya couldn't be more wrong, Dougey!"

Douglas nervously smiled.

* * *

 **5:54 am**

The guard looked at the time and was sad to see that his shift was almost over. Foxy's cheerful behavior combined with Mangle's shyness had made it easy for him to adjust to the two. And while Mangle was even shyer than the guard, he really enjoyed talking to her.

Unfortunately, it was time to go. They couldn't allow the morning guard to find out about the anime-tronics' sentience, and the guard himself was getting rather tired. Despite the coffee he drank earlier, he had caught himself yawning several times throughout the night.

Foxy was the first to leave. Before she went through the doorway, she turned back to Douglas with another grin – a friendly one this time – and spoke up.

"I look forward to seein' ya again, Dougey!" she exclaimed with glee. Then, she turned around and left the office.

The human smiled and looked at Mangle, who was still not brave enough to look him in the eyes for longer than a few seconds. Douglas had been amazed to find someone as shy as her: he himself had been timid for as long as he could remember, but the white she-fox exceeded even that.

An awkward silence fell, which Mangle broke.

"W-well," she softly said. "S-s-see y-you…later…r-right? P-please?"

She finally looked up at him, her pleading golden eyes looking straight into his. He blushed a bit before answering.

"O-of c-course," he stuttered. "I-I'm n-not going t-to quit a-anytime soon…"

The white she-fox relaxed a bit at that, and her expression turned slightly more cheerful. She turned to the door, preparing to leave when she suddenly froze. She hesitated, and turned back to Douglas, who gave her a confused look.

Without saying anything, Mangle approached the guard and gave him a tight hug once she was close enough, causing said guard's face to turn a bit red.

The embrace lasted for a while before the anime-tronic let go of the human, blushing profusely.

Once again the awkward silence was present, and once again Mangle broke it after a short while.

"Erm…s-s-see y-you l-la-later…D-Doug…las…"

And with that, she was gone.


	9. Not gone yet

**Hey, fellows!**

 **I'm really glad you like this story! I was almost…scared that it would get negative reviews because I did not include…** ** _that_** **stuff. And I have NO plans of including…** ** _that_** **stuff.**

 **That being said, I can make some romance in future installments. IF! You guys want me to, that is. If you do, I already have an idea about who Douglas' love interest will be, but I'm also prepared to change my mind if you fellows want to vote. HOWEVER! It will NOT include…** ** _that_** **stuff!**

 **If you do want to vote, please tell me. I will set up a poll on my profile.**

 **Also, I'm sorry for the shorter chapter.**

 **~Frank**

* * *

 _Chapter 9: Not gone yet_

 _Douglas looked around to observe the interior of the old diner he was currently sitting in. While sipping his coffee, he looked at the small stage with curtains, the round tables for visitors to sit at and the posters on the wall. On the posters, pictures with two gold-colored anime-tronics could be seen._

 _Despite the silence and a lack of visitors, Douglas felt more relaxed than he had in recent years. His mind was completely at ease, and the chair he was sitting on was comfortable enough for him to be able to sleep in._

 _"_ _It's cozy, isn't it?" a voice to his right said. The young man turned his head towards the source of the sound and locked eyes with Golden, who was sitting on a chair next to him. He froze for a second before nodding._

 _"_ _Yeah," he replied. "Yeah, it is."_

 _The golden anime-tronic smiled. "I heard you met the fox sisters last night." She giggled. "I feel guilty for teasing you in your last dream. As if Chica alone wasn't bad enough, now you have three girls messing around. But of course…" she inched closer to him, her voice turning slightly seductive. "…that's not a_ bad _thing, is it?"_

 _The guard felt his face get warm as he backed up a bit and looked away. Upon doing that, he silently cursed himself. This was exactly the reaction Golden wanted to get out of him: getting all shy and timid again._

 _The she-bear giggled again and put her hand on his left shoulder. "Oh Dougey, I'm sorry!" she apologized. "I can't help myself!"_

 _Douglas froze for a second before he felt his face rise even more in temperature. A small smile briefly appeared on his face._

 _His experiences with 'being messed with' were never that great. He had been bullied numerous times throughout his life, causing him to adopt a quiet personality with the constant fear of bullies lurking around._

 _Contrary to what he'd expect, however, he felt that what these girls did was different. This wasn't malevolent or hurting at all. Every time they teased him, along with the embarrassment he felt…strangely at ease. He knew that these girls meant well and would never intentionally harm him, nor would they make fun of him the way a bully would._

 _"_ _I-it's fine…" he timidly said. "I…I d-don't really mind…"_

 _Golden ceased her chuckling and looked back sweetly. Douglas glanced back at the she-bear from the corner of his eyes, the red color on his face intensifying a bit._

 _The anime-tronic sensed the young man's nervousness, and backed up slightly in an attempt to calm him down. It didn't have a super strong effect, but it helped._

 _The slightly uncomfortable silence was broken as Golden spoke up._

 _"_ _Oh yeah, I wanted to tell you something…" She crossed her legs as Douglas looked at her questioningly. "You see, so far you've met five anime-tronics, yes? Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, Foxy and Mangle. Well…" she spread her arms. "Guess who you'll be meeting next night?"_

* * *

 **9:49 am – Manager's office, Freddy's Restaurant**

Three knocks on the door snapped Griffiths out of his thoughts and intense reading session. He looked up and blinked. He was pretty sure he had no appointments, and if someone wanted to make a good first impression during a job interview, they'd let him know before they'd come to see him.

A slight fear of a possible complaint went through the manager's mind as he sat up.

"Come in," he called through the door. "It's open."

The person on the other side obeyed, and a young man who seemed to be in his late teens or early twenties walked in. His green eyes showed fake politeness and his black hair was combed neatly. His robust body was covered by clean clothing.

Rage sparked in Griffiths' mind as he recognized Blake Maxwell; the guy who had spread lies about Douglas in an attempt to gain the night guard position for himself.

"Good day, sir," Maxwell said in a politeness that was as fake as what was visible in his eyes. Without asking, he quickly took a seat and faced the manager, as if ready for a job interview. "Have you considered replacing your current night guard with someone who can resist the temptations of-"

"Listen, _kid_ ," Griffiths interrupted him with forced calmness. "I talked to the night guard recently and he told me a very different story. So give me a reason why I should replace him with someone less polite."

Maxwell blinked and gave the man a questioning look. "I don't understand. What do you mean by 'less polite'? I thought Douglas-"

" _Mr. Goodwin_ always waits or asks for my permission to sit down. My extensive experience with liars tells me that his respect towards me is genuine. In addition, he is one of the few – if not the only – guard who didn't run away from the job after one night. If I fire him, the cycle just goes on. I can't let that happen."

The combination of Griffiths' glare and this speech just imbued Maxwell with awe, rage and the feeling of powerlessness. The manager knew this, and couldn't help but draw slight pleasure from the young man's defeat.

"Now, if you'll excuse me…" he then said. "I still have a lot of paperwork, and I don't really want it to become homework."

* * *

 **FELLOWS!**

 **I have something to ask.**

 **Y'see, my mind is once again filled with rather…unusual crossovers.**

 **My Minecraft / Ingress crossover wasn't a success, though that was mostly because it was very rushed and I had little experience with writing. I didn't realize how much my tiredness affected the quality at the time.**

 **ANYWAY! I have another few weird crossovers in mind, but I want you to judge whether or not they are good ideas.**

 **Either my mind is a bit weird and likes unusual combinations, or I think too quickly that a combination is weird.**

 **Anyhow, if you guys want to help me with them, I'll tell you about them in the author's note or a poll or somethin'.**

 **~F**


	10. Old and gold

**Guests:** _I indeed have no plans of including…_ that _stuff. However, that doesn't mean I won't include a special relationship. It won't be mentioned explicitly in the first installments, though. Maybe in (a) later one(s) (if at all)._

 **PotatoManato:** _I appreciate the offer, but to be honest, I think I prefer doing this on my own. I hope you don't mind and I'm sorry if you're disappointed. However, if you want to, you can leave possible criticism and/or mention any errors I've made or will make in the reviews._

 **Hey, fellows!**

 **That thing about the romance I mentioned in one of the previous author's notes; I'm getting second thoughts about it. I don't think it'll become a thing. Still, let me know in the reviews what you want. If you do want me to include romance, I** _ **may**_ **set up a poll on my page.**

 **Last but not least, I'd like to reveal to you fellows that Douglas is nearly 2 meters (= approx. 6.56 feet), and has a somewhat slender build. The anime-tronics are still taller, though!**

 **~F**

* * *

 _Chapter ten: Old and gold _

"He came by again!?" Douglas asked through the phone in disbelief. "Why!?"

 _"_ _Asked me if I fired you already,"_ Griffiths replied. _"Don't worry: not only did I say no, I showed him the door before he himself even thought about leaving."_

"T-thank you, s-sir," the guard said. "I-I just hope he doesn't come back."

 _"_ _So do I. But if he does return, I'll call the police."_

Douglas' eyes widened. "Th…the police, sir? Isn't that a little…over the top?"

 _"_ _Maybe it is somewhat excessive, but they'll understand if I tell them that Maxwell had applied three times within less than a week along with his terrible behavior and had been committing defamation against you."_

The guard swallowed. "I-if you say so, sir…"

* * *

 **11:59 pm**

The guard had once again taken his seat in the office, anxiously waiting for the clock to strike midnight. He was well aware that his nervousness was unjustified; especially since he already met Golden. However, the golden she-bear had informed him that she wasn't the only one he was going to meet.

Douglas sighed inwardly. It was already weird enough to meet a bunch of sentient machines. That, combined with their apparent love for humans and Golden's supernatural powers really made the young man's life unique. He was pretty sure that he was one of the very few people to actually experience this kind of extraordinary stuff.

THUMP!

He jumped when he suddenly heard a noise. Blinking, he froze for a second before grabbing the tablet and switching through the camera, slightly scared. It was probably, like, Chica trying to scare him or something, but still…

The first feed the guard saw was of the stage. He saw Freddy, Bonnie and Chica stretching and talking. When the camera turned on, the trio turned their heads to it, slightly startled, before smiling and waving.

Douglas smiled as well, at first…

…until he realized why he was looking through the camera in the first place.

Evidently, Chica wasn't pranking him.

The young man's smile vanished in an instant and his glee was replaced by fear as he quickly selected Pirate Cove on the screen.

THUMP!

Foxy was standing just outside the purple curtains, giving Douglas a grin.

THUMP!

Mangle Cove. Mangle had her back to the camera, but turned her head when it activated. She shyly waved and a minor blush appeared on her face.

THUMP!

Sweat formed on Douglas' head as he selected a random camera, which was apparently placed right in front of his office. As a result, he saw the inside of an air vent, likely the one connected to the rectangular hole in the wall under his desk.

The guard suppressed a yelp as he noticed the individual in the vent looking at him.

It was yet another anime-tronic, with a simple black sweater with a hoodie and trousers of the same color. The color of her skin and hair was a compromise between gold and green – the latter of which likely originated from many years of neglect and accumulation of dust –, with tears and scars in it, similar to the damage Golden had. This anime-tronic's hair was longer, however, seeing how it pretty much reached her shoulders. The long ears on her head suggested she was a bunny. Lastly, her soft, relaxed eyes seemed to be something between gray and brown.

As soon as she saw the camera turn on, she smiled brightly and waved before crawling past it, causing several more thumps to be heard.

A sigh of relief escaped Douglas' throat as he put the tablet back on the desk and leaned back in his chair, waiting for his body to stop shaking.

He didn't have much time to do that, however, as the bunny girl appeared from under his desk and rose to her feet. She looked at the guard in curiosity.

"Hi!" she chirped. "I hope I didn't scare you."

Douglas looked back slightly, unable to fully meet her eyes (wouldn't be the first time for that to happen).

"N-no…" he reassured. "I-I'm okay."

The anime-tronic tilted her head slightly and gave the human a skeptic look. She retained her smile, however, which caused Douglas to blush and look away more.

"Hmm~…Goldie told me you were shy," she softly said.

"Did someone call me?"

Douglas looked back up to see Golden stand right in front of him, causing him to jump and back up a bit. The golden she-bear saw this and gave him an apologetic look.

"Sorry," she regretfully said. "Didn't mean to scare you."

"I-it's alright," the human replied.

It was weird to see Golden in real life. So far, Douglas had only talked to her through dreams. Sure, those dreams were vivid, but to be physically in the room with her felt…different.

He also barely realized that she just pretty much teleported into the office.

"I don't think you two have met yet," Golden said. She looked at the guard as she gestured towards the unidentified rabbit woman. "That there's Spring. She's pretty much Bonnie's predecessor."

Spring gave Douglas a wave. "Hi."

"H-hi…" the guard stuttered. "Uh…n-nice t-to meet you?"

The bunny girl smiled. "Likewise…Douglas, right?"

The young man nodded, right when Foxy entered the office from the door to his left. The red she-fox looked around the room as if she was on a federal rescue mission before looking at the confused trio.

"Everything alright?" she asked with uncertainty. "Me and the others were kinda worried."

"Worried?" Douglas asked. "Why?"

Foxy looked at him. "Ya don't really check the camera's a lot, do ya? So why'd they activate not two minutes ago? Were ya scared of somethin'?"

 _Oh, no_ Douglas thought. _Now Spring's going to know I lied to her about the scaring part._

He stole a glance from the gold/green girl, who, to the guard's relief, wasn't giving him the death glares he expected. She didn't even have a disappointed look. Instead, she gave him that skeptic smile again.

"Eh…I think I might've been responsible for that," she intervened. "I made some noise when I went through the air vent."

Foxy put her hand and hook on her hips as she gave the rabbit woman a questioning look. "Didn't we have rules 'bout that whole vent thing? I thought you and Gold sorted that out."

"You thought right," Golden answered as she gave Spring an accusing look.

"Sorry," Spring said to pretty much everyone in the office. "Won't happen again."

Golden sighed tiredly. Foxy, on the other hand, grinned as she stepped back into the west hallway.

"Whatever. I'm gonna go back to my cove. See y'all later!"

And with that, she ran back down the hallway. Spring chuckled and turned back to Douglas, who suddenly had a thoughtful look in his eyes.

"H-hey Spring…" the night guard in question said. "I…th-think I m-might've heard y-your name before." He fell silent. The golden rabbit woman looked at him questioningly, until a giggle from Golden caught her attention.

"I think I know what you're talking about," she chuckled. "Remember your second night?"

That hint brought back the memories Douglas had been looking for.

During the second night, a certain chicken girl had commented on the guard's slender build. She added that he 'just might survive Spring's hugs' or something like that. Douglas, of course, didn't know who Spring was at the time, nor did he know any of the anime-tronics that well. He had only met Bonnie and Chica one night prior, and he found the latter's jokes fear-inducing. He was lucky that Bonnie was such a sweetheart, as the blue bunny had immediately reassured him.

"Right…" he muttered.

* * *

"And? How scared was he?" Chica mischievously smirked when Foxy got back. The crimson she-fox let out a chuckle and she shook her head.

"Sorry to disappoint ya, but I don't think I saw the best part," she responded.

Bonnie was sitting on the stage, practicing with her guitar. She smirked and rolled her eyes upon hearing the conversation between the two. Freddy, who had taken a seat at one of the tables nearby, noticed this and let out a silent chuckle.

"Eh," Chica replied indifferently. "She'll scare him more eventually. It's pretty much inevitable with her affinity for hugs."

That got a chuckle out of all the girls that were present in the room.

* * *

"Yeah…" Spring admitted with a slight blush. "I kinda like hugs."

Douglas' head got a pink color, too. "G-guess that explains what Chica said…"

Spring looked at him. "Don't worry, though. I won't invade your personal space _too_ often," She giggled.

"Um…o-okay?" the guard stammered.

As the two continued their conversation, Golden stood in a corner, smiling silently. It wasn't mocking or teasing in any way; if anything, it was happy.

The she-bear was thinking about how lucky they were to finally get an actual human friend. And how lucky they were that the first guard they managed to catch was so nice. The other girls were in agreement with how likeable this guy was. He was fun to mess with, but he never got really angry or sad if they did. His shyness made him…cute. In addition, he was one of the few who understood how Mangle felt and how she found it so difficult to talk to others.

And to think they all only just met this boy.


	11. Injustice

**Hey, guys…um…Merry Christmas?**

 **…**

 **Am I late? I can't tell. Stupid time zones...  
**

 ** **Before I'll get to my excuses as to why this chapter is so late** , I'd like to apologize for that. I don't know how many of you were eager to get this chapter, nor do I know if you think this chapter is worth your time. If you don't…well…have an additional apology!**

 **As for my excuses, last week I had something at school that my teachers like to call 'activity week'. Basically, it involves activities that one doesn't do every day at school, such as going to a museum or get special French literature lessons.**

 **While activity week sounds pretty fun, most activities are shitty. On top of that, they took a long time, leaving me mentally tired and unable to write a lot.**

 **For those who read my other stories, this one is almost over, allowing me to spend more time writing** _ **A Knight of the Night**_ **and** _ **Ghosts of the Past**_ **.**

 **LAST BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST! I have decided NOT to include romance in this story or any of its sequels. I like it better that way, and I think you guys agree with me on that.**

* * *

 _Chapter eleven: Injustice_

Blake Maxwell clenched his fists with all the strength he had, ignoring the pain his hands eventually suffered as he felt the anger he had had over the past day rise in power. Anger towards everyone involved with his problems. Kyle Griffiths, that condescending sonofabitch who refused to let him have the job he needed and wanted. Douglas Goodwin, the little shit who had that very job. Even Douglas' older brother Zach, who always stuck his nose where it didn't belong.

The thing was, Griffiths didn't see how incompetent Douglas really was. How could such a lanky gawk be a good guard? He'd be more scared of his own taser than the burglars themselves. As far as Maxwell knew, the guy didn't even know how to fight. So how was he going to guard those robots?!

Heh…yeah…those robots sure looked nice.

…

Wait…

If Griffiths was too blind to see that Douglas wasn't fit for the position of night guard…maybe Maxwell should give the old man a hand by proving it.

Maybe he should show how shitty of a guard Douglas really is.

After all…it is survival of the fittest.

* * *

 **22:00 pm**

Kyle Griffiths suppressed a yawn as he continued making the paperwork in front of him, stubbornly resisting the temptation of going home right then. There was so much he had to do to make sure the restaurant could stay open. Purchase this for the bots, buy that for the general decoration around the place, and then there were several job applications…

The manager had no wife or children. He didn't even have a hobby or anything like that. He was very much willing to work for this restaurant, however: it was his job, after all.

He did have plenty of friends. They spoke with him whenever they could, which wasn't very often. Most of them also had a fulltime job, which consumed most of their time. Unlike Kyle, though, they weren't as passionate about their jobs as he was about his. Most of them had families to look after, which was yet another difference between them and Griffiths. In addition, they _did_ mind working outside working hours.

They always said that Griffiths worked way too hard; a notion the manager disagreed with.

Despite the fact that he had dinner at the restaurant sometimes.

At 23:41 pm, Griffiths finally began packing his stuff and left the restaurant…not noticing an unidentified figure hiding behind a nearby trash can.

* * *

 **23:54**

Douglas didn't know the exact time, but he knew that his chances of arriving at work late were increasing by the second. Sure, the girls would probably forgive him, but if the manager were to somehow find out, he'd be in trouble.

The main reason was actually that he wanted to hang out with his friends as long as possible without losing even a minute of time. They were, after all, the only friends he really had, and even though he was still a bit nervous when he'd go inside the building, he really liked having them around.

The guard hastily stepped out of his car, still in his casual clothing. He didn't dare put his uniform on at home due to the time, and he had eventually decided that he'd equip it in the restaurant.

He was going to need a private space where the girls couldn't come, though…maybe the bathroom?

CRASH!

Something impacted the back of Douglas' head with great force, causing the young man to be thrown against the wall of the restaurant in a dazed state.

"You really are a shitty guard," a frighteningly familiar voice said.

Scared, the guard turned around to come face to face with an equally familiar figure. They were shorter but more robust than Douglas, their physical strength very clear. They also possessed a baseball bat. The voice in which they spoke sounded masculine, and the guard had recognized it immediately.

"B…Blake!" he blurted out.

Maxwell lifted up the bat in response, after which he attempted to bring it down on Douglas' skull. Reflexively, the guard lifted up his own arms to protect his face, crying out in pain as the bat hit his ulnas.

The bat-wielding human readied his weapon once more. Douglas covered his head once more in response, waiting for the attack to come.

And it _would've_ come, were it not for the unidentified gloved hand that caught the weapon in time.

Maxwell turned around, ready to counterattack whoever had grabbed his bat – only to come face to face with a _very_ pissed off Foxy.

Douglas, whose arms obscured his sight, nervously peeked over his protection to find out why the blow he expected hadn't come. Upon seeing the silhouette of his protector, relief and confusion mixed with the fear and anger he felt towards his assailant.

Maxwell – who was frozen in fear – quickly got disarmed by the towering crimson she-fox, who then threateningly lifted up her hook.

"Prepare to be _busted up_ -"

She was interrupted by the front doors of the restaurant creaking open and several sets of footsteps hastily approaching in the thick darkness.

"What is happening here?" a stern version of Freddy's voice demanded. She gestured towards Maxwell. "Who is this?"

"I know that guy!" Chica exclaimed. "He's that weirdo who applied for the nightshift twice in a row."

"Douglas! You okay?! What happened?!" Bonnie's voice suddenly cut in. The guard in question felt how two hands gently grabbed him and searched him for injuries. They eventually got to the back of his head and the rabbit girl softly gasped when she felt the bruise there.

"D-Douglas…" Mangle voiced from close by. "Y-your arms…"

Another pair of hands carefully grabbed the bruised area on his lower left arm.

"Y-you're hurt…"

"I…I'll be alright…" the guard answered. He mentally kicked himself. He seemed weak. He _was_ weak.

"Let me see if that's true," a third voice, which belonged to Golden, said. "Move aside, girls."

Bonnie and Mangle released their grips and stepped away from the young man as Golden approached. She put her hands on his shoulders and seemingly froze.

After a few seconds, she released him. "You're alright. No serious physical damage."

Douglas gave her a thankful nod, and didn't bother to ask how she just examined him without actually examining him.

Meanwhile, the pissed off Foxy had mercilessly thrown Maxwell on the ground and was now advancing on the terrified human, who was struggling to crawl back and believe his eyes at the same time. The she-fox was accompanied by an equally pissed off Chica, who threatened to kick said human in the abdomen.

"Enough," Freddy called out to them in her stern voice. "Violence will not solve anything. We have to contact the police."

Foxy gave her an incredulous look. "Really? The cops?"

"Before you continue your protest," Freddy interrupted, "I know for a fact that assault is not a legal activity. The law also applies to us. This man will get the penalty he deserves, but we ourselves cannot find ourselves guilty of crime as well, even…no, _especially_ since we are less likely to be arrested," the she-bear calmly explained. "You understand that, don't you?"

A deep growl of angry reluctance could be heard, but Foxy nodded and backed off. Chica did the same, but kept her glare on Maxwell.

"I-I'll call the police," Douglas spoke up as he grabbed his phone. Spring kept him in a protective embrace.

* * *

It didn't take long for the police to arrive, though not before the anime-tronics went to their respective positions on their stages. Maxwell – whose screaming about sentient robots had made the officers tired and annoyed – was taken to the police station for assault.

Kyle Griffiths had been contacted as well, and the manager arrived just after the authorities did. After he and an officer had asked Douglas what had happened, the guard replied that he managed to single-handedly defeat his attacker. He said this with great reluctance, but the anime-tronics had insisted the guard take the credit. If he were to mention the girls in any way, the cops would probably take him to a psychologist or something.

When the officers proceeded to leave, Griffiths had tiredly ordered Douglas to go home, to which the young man protested.

"Sir, I'm fine," he said. "I've done my job; that doesn't mean I get to leave."

The manager shook his head. "You're right, it doesn't. But I've seen that you took a beating yourself. If you don't want to go home because you deserved it, think of it this way: you can't function optimally with those injuries."

And with that, their conversation was over.

* * *

 **Again, Merry Christmas.  
**

 **Also! The next chapter will be the last.**


	12. Epilogue - You have to stay

**THE EXAM WEEKS STRIKE AGAIN, and I have to study for it during my spare time if I want some decent grades to compensate for my current ones! These teachers always know when the time is 'right' to turn my spare time into working time! It's beautiful!**

 **Seriously though, writing is going to become more difficult as the exam week approaches. The idea I had of writing three stories at the same time wasn't a good one to begin with.**

 **That being said, I just wanted to say that while I'm glad I got this story done, I really enjoyed writing it.**

 **Thank you all for reading this story and putting up with my laziness and lack of time and/or energy to write lately. Every time I saw that this story had a new follower, every time I saw that someone had put it on their** _ **favorite stories**_ **-list, every time I read a new review or even an increase in views…all that kept me going. So thank you.**

* * *

 _Epilogue – You have to stay_

 _Douglas didn't look up at Golden as he stubbornly continued reading his book, not wanting to know what the anime-tronic had to say to him about recent events. The two were back in the dream version of the young man's living room. Just like then, Douglas was reading. And just like then, Golden was in the room with him, watching him with her uniquely dark eyes._

 _The only difference was the atmosphere. The previous time, it had been relaxing for the two of them, and it was the beginning of Douglas' friendship with the golden she-bear. Now, the tension that hung in the air scared and saddened the guard._

 _He messed up. He had been incapable of defending himself against Blake, so the girls had to save him from getting beaten up. It shouldn't've been like that; he was supposed to protect_ them _. And how was he going to do that if he couldn't even protect himself?_

 _When he could no longer bear the lack of communication, the young man finally snapped his thoughts from his book and looked at Golden._

 _"_ _I messed up, I get it," he said. "What do you want from me?"_

 _Golden closed her eyes and sighed. When she opened them to look at the guard again she spoke in a soft tone, which she purposefully allowed to betray her pity towards him._

 _"_ _I don't want_ this _. I don't want you blaming yourself for something nobody could've helped."_

 _"_ _You helped," Douglas simply responded. "You shouldn't've had to help. I'm supposed to be able to protect myself." He averted his gaze. "Maybe you shouldn't've helped to begin with…" he muttered._

 _"_ _Don't say that!" the golden she-bear protested._

 _"_ _But it's true! Maybe I'd have grown some backbone if Maxwell had given me a beating!"_

 _Another sigh escaped Golden's throat, followed by an even tenser silence. Douglas resumed reading his book as a response, feeling even worse than before he started the conversation._

 _"_ _You're waking up…" the anime-tronic said after a while._

* * *

 **15:27 pm**

"Crap…"

Douglas continued to mentally assault himself while attempting to eat breakfast (or a night guard's equivalent to it). He had also been thinking about what to do next, and although his plans for the upcoming night conflicted heavily with what he really wanted to do, he realized that it was for the best.

He was unable to protect himself, and by extent, unable to protect the girls and the restaurant. He had proven himself to be too incompetent for his current job, which he knew confirmed what Maxwell thought about him. Instead of helping the girls, they had to help _him_. They deserved so much better…

They were his only friends next to his brother. And he was their only human friend. Upon doing some simple math, it would become clear that they'd be able to manage their lives perfectly without him; they still had each other, after all.

Seeing how all that added up, the young man had reluctantly made a decision he felt he needed to make. For the girls' sakes.

Tonight was going to be his last night before his resignation.

* * *

 **23:59 pm**

It took some effort to convince Griffiths to let Douglas have overtime tonight, especially after what had happened the night before. It took even more effort to inform him that he was going to quit afterwards, as the manager had immediately begun a desperate debate about the topic – over the phone. However, being Douglas' boss didn't give him the power to force the young man to stay, and he eventually gave up.

The guard decided that he'd tell the girls after he filled in the resignation form in front of him, with which he was halfway done. It would only make it harder for him to actually give up his job, as the anime-tronics would likely object against his decision without relent.

He also made a mental note to apologize to them after informing them. Especially Golden, to whom he may have had been a bit too harsh in the dream.

"Good evening, Douglas."

The guard in question snapped his head to his right upon hearing the soft, formal voice. He hadn't had the chance to talk to the girls yet this night; he had made his way to the office before the day guard was gone.

Freddy was standing in the doorway, giving a worried look.

"Are you alright?" she asked as she fully made her way into the room. "After Mr. Griffiths had sent you home previous night, we hadn't had the chance to speak with you."

Douglas blinked as he stood up, trying to block Freddy's view of the resignation form on the desk.

"Uh…y-yeah, I'm fine," he airily said.

He mentally punched himself – again – when he saw the she-bear's blue eyes narrow in suspicion.

"Are you certain?" she asked as she took another step towards him. "I am aware of your history with this person, and having him assault you is not something I expect you to take lightly." she resolutely took another step, this one somewhat more intimidating as, for the first time, she came close to invading the night guard's personal space.

She continued talking in a calm but clearly suspicious – almost angry – way. "In addition, given your current unusual refusal to move backwards as I continue to advance, I have reason to believe you are hiding something from me."

The human did not reply as he was frozen in fear. He had never seen the formal, gentle she-bear act like this. The only other time he had seen her angry was last night, and that anger had clearly been directed to Blake. But even then, she didn't intimidate him like this.

Freddy blinked, suddenly realizing what she was doing. Her eyes widened and she took a step back, a guilty look visible on her face.

It was silent for a second.

"I…er…" the anime-tronic stuttered. "S-sorry…"

Douglas gave a sigh of relief, but the weight on his mind had only increased as he now had to explain to Freddy what was going on. Even though she probably wouldn't do what she just did again, the guard didn't expect her to stop interrogating him.

His expectations became reality as the she-bear spoke up again.

"Douglas…" she said, her voice not much more than a whisper. "You know that you always have us to talk to…"

The human sighed, hesitated, and sighed again before stepping aside, revealing the resignation form on the desk.

Freddy's eyes widened again upon seeing it.

Another silence.

Douglas didn't dare make eye contact and instead chose to look at the ground. Freddy looked at him, but he was too nervous and ashamed to look back. He closed his eyes, ready for whatever the she-bear was going to say or do next.

"Douglas?" the anime-tronic finally spoke. "Is that…?"

The guard silently nodded as he felt his eyes beginning to water. With an increasingly shaky voice, he explained how he felt that he was not fit for keeping anyone safe, and that the girls were better off without him. That they deserved better.

His throat felt as if it had been forced shut when he was done talking. His face was resting in his right hand, and his shoulders were shaking uncontrollably. Freddy's face was shocked at first; despite everything she knew about the young man, she never expected him to quit…even after the Maxwell incident.

The she-bear quickly regained her senses, however, and with a look on her face that betrayed her sympathy, she walked over to the sobbing man and gave him a warm hug, which he returned.

"Douglas…" she softly said.

When Douglas was pretty much done crying, the guard slowly pulled away from the hug, still not ready to look Freddy in the eyes. The anime-tronic still kept him in half a hug as she looked down at him.

"Douglas…" she repeated. "Listen. Being a guard here doesn't simply mean having to protect us; it means keeping us company. And so far, you've been the only guard, the only _person_ , capable of doing that." She paused, giving the words some time to sink in before continuing. "Even if you were to be replaced, it would be unlikely for your successor to be willing – or able – to do what a guard here is supposed to do. It would be far more probable for them to flee, just like your predecessors."

"But I tried to flee, too…" Douglas weakly countered.

"Maybe so…" Freddy replied, "but you grew to trust us eventually."

"Only because Chica stopped me."

"That doesn't matter. You're here now, and even if we could convince another guard to stay, whether or not they'd be a _good_ friend is up to chance. I know for a fact that some guards only applied for this job simply because they felt…attracted to us. If we were to gain the trust of such a guard, it would negatively affect our prospect for getting a true friend. We've been extremely fortunate with you."

Upon hearing that, Douglas finally looked up at her.

* * *

Golden was sitting in the back room on her own.

Spring had been a bit surprised when the other anime-tronic made the decision to stay there. The golden she-bear was usually very willing to go hang out with the others, as the back room felt kind of lonely. Golden had reassured her friend that it was nothing to worry about and that she just had to rest a bit.

The real reason why she stayed was because of Douglas. After that debate they had in the dream world, she knew that the other anime-tronics would sense the discomfort between her and the guard, and they didn't need to know about her argument with him. They knew her too well to be fooled by her, so trying to hide her thoughts was out of the question. She had barely been able to fool Spring.

What to do next…

She looked up as the door suddenly creaked open, revealing a silhouette that could only belong to one person.

Despite the darkness, Golden could see Douglas' expression, which seemed to be a combination between nervousness and guilt. He looked around the lightless room in search of the she-bear, until he eventually found the glowing white pinpricks of her eyes. He nervously flinched upon noticing them, froze, and then hesitantly stepped into the room.

"H-hey…" he stuttered.

Golden stood up, not saying a word. Douglas swallowed before continuing.

"U-um…hey…back in the dream, I…"

He paused when she began to approach him.

"…uh…I…was…kind of being…uh…well…"

He started to sweat when Golden came closer, but he refused to back off.

"I-I just wanted to say…uh…I'm-"

He fell silent as the anime-tronic suddenly pulled him into an embrace.

"Don't you _dare_ say you're sorry," she softly spoke. "You shouldn't be."

Douglas' eyes widened. "Wh-what?"

Golden smiled. "You were just giving your opinion. It was a debate. You're not supposed to apologize for giving your opinion in a debate."

The young man blinked, then chuckled and returned the hug. "Huh…I never thought of it that way…"

It stayed silent for a while, before the golden she-bear spoke up again.

"Are you going to stay?"

Douglas was caught off-guard by the question, and he looked up at her.

"Wh-what do you-"

"I know you were planning on quitting."

"How do you-"

"Same way I'm answering your questions now before you're done asking them," Golden replied, her voice playful.

"And how…oh, y'know what, I feel stupid for asking now," Douglas grinned, remembering the she-bear's…unusual abilities.

The two chuckled for a while before ending the hug. Golden looked at the guard.

"But really…" she said in a serious tone. "Are you staying?"

Douglas nodded. "Yes. Freddy changed my mind. But…" he gave her a pleading look. "Please don't tell the others about the whole quitting thing. I think it'd be better if they didn't know."

The golden she-bear looked back solemnly. "I won't tell them."

The two looked at each other for a few more seconds before Douglas' face turned red, after which he quickly looked away with his usual, timid expression.

Golden's smile returned and put a hand on the guard's shoulder. "That's the Dougey I know! Come on. Let's hang out with the others."

* * *

 **IMPORTANT MESSAGE: I'm not entirely sure if I mentioned this before, but there are going to be sequels for this story. I will have to finish my other works first, though, so please keep that in mind while you're waiting (IF you'll be waiting, that is).**

 **Also, thank you again for reading!**


	13. Sequel notice

**Hey, guys. I wanted to make this temporary chapter to inform you that the sequel has begun. It is called 'Bother Of An Employee's Brother', and it features a fellow we haven't met before...**

 **Though you could probably tell that by reading the title.**

 **Anyway, have a nice day!**


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